Judge hears attempt to throw out terminated pregnancy report lawsuit, expects to have decision soon

The Indiana Department of Health asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit over access to terminated pregnancy reports. Arguments largely centered on the state's definition of a medical record.

The individual terminated pregnancy reports contain information about Hoosiers who received legal abortions. It includes information about the person's pre-existing medical conditions, age, location, marital status and reason for the abortion. Medical providers fill out these reports, and if they don’t, they could lose their license and face misdemeanor charges.

Attorneys for anti-abortion group Voices for Life said — because information like the patient's name and social security number isn't included — these aren't medical records.

IDOH’s attorney said the reports meet the definition of a medical record in state law. It’s a written document; it’s in the possession of a provider — which includes IDOH; and includes information on the treatment or diagnosis of a patient.

The lawsuit stems from an IDOH decision to stop sharing individual terminated pregnancy reports last December due to patient privacy concerns. Voices for Life requested the reports as an Access to Public Records Act request — which includes an exemption for medical records. Indiana’s public access counselor issued an informal opinion in support of protecting the records, which the state attorney general disagreed with.

READ MORE: Expert: Legal discussion on terminated pregnancy reports in complicated 'gray' area
 

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During Friday’s hearing, Judge Tim Oakes asked how each side would be harmed if he ruled against them. IDOH's attorneys said the harm is making patient medical records public. Which, while the department’s attorneys stayed away from making it a central point, includes using those records to identify individual patients.

In the first quarterly report for 2024, IDOH reported 45 abortions in Indiana. It reported nearly 2,000 just one calendar year earlier.

Voices for Life's attorneys said they would be harmed by removing access to an important enforcement mechanism for the near-total ban as the legislature or lawsuit define the reports. The ban has no specific consequences for patients who receive abortion care. But providers who administer illegal abortion care could face felony charges and lose their license.

Medical providers who joined the case to prevent the terminated pregnancy reports from being released declined to support or oppose the dismissal. They said if the case moved forward, the discovery portion of the lawsuit would provide information that would be of interest to them.

Judge Oakes said he expects to have a decision by early next week.

Lauren is our digital editor. Contact her at lchapman@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @laurenechapman_.